about opposition to his modernization policies, which were seen as
violating Russian Orthodox religious precepts. The group had the
tsar’s mandate to seek out, detain, torture, and kill those suspected of
disloyalty to the throne. The officials of this secret chancery recruited
informantsto gather intelligence about public animosity toward the
tsar among the nobility, clergy, and peasantry. Like the Oprichnina
of Ivan the Terrible, the Preobrazhenskiy prikazdid not survive its
founder’s death; it was abolished in 1725.PRIMAKOV, YEVGENY MAKSIMOVICH (1929– ). A skilled bu-
reaucrat and academic, Primakov served Soviet and post-Soviet lead-
ers effectively for five decades. After finishing his doctorate degree,
Primakov worked as a journalist overseas. In 1970 he returned to
Moscow to serve as the director of academic institutes, most impor-
tantly the Institute of International Economics and International Re-
lations. During these years, Primakov built up excellent personal and
professional contacts with Western academics and journalists. He
also developed a reputation as a major voice for political reform in-
side the Soviet Union.
In 1989 General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachevco-opted Pri-
makov into the Central Committee and then the Politburo of the
Communist Party. During the 1991 August putsch, Primakov
staunchly supported Gorbachev and was one of the party leaders who
went to the Crimea to bring Gorbachev back from house arrest. Al-
most immediately following the putsch, Primakov was appointed by
Gorbachev to head the new Central Intelligence Service, which in
December of the same year became the Foreign Intelligence Service
of Russia, or SVR.
As a journalist and academician, Primakov had close contact with
the staff of the KGB’s First Chief Directorate and was a good choice
both politically and operationally to head the new foreign intelligence
service. According to a former Soviet intelligence officer, Primakov
was an enrolled KGB agent with the cryptonym “Maksim.” Pri-
makov is widely credited with maintaining SVR morale and opera-
tional tempo during his tenure. The SVR suffered relatively few de-
fections during this trying period and continued to run penetration
agents in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bu-
reau of Investigation. Primakov visited the CIA headquarters in No-206 •PRIMAKOV, YEVGENY MAKSIMOVICH (1929– )06-313 P-Z.qxd 7/27/06 7:57 AM Page 206